Talk:The Hive Queen/@comment-70.55.45.197-20181122170536/@comment-47.142.178.182-20181125093207
(I'm sorry about how long this is; I just wanted to give my two cents.) Assuming you mean you want to write a series as good as Wings of Fire and not literally another series of Wings of Fire: I doubt it's impossible! Read good books, read a lot about writing, practice a lot, and, above all, have fun, and you should be on your way to writing stories you consider as good as, if not better in at least some ways, your favorite books. When reading books: *Read a lot of good books. Read spoiler-free reviews beforehand (or complete reviews, if you don't care about spoilers) to see if its number of stars is deserved, then read more in-depth reviews afterward. While and after reading the book, think about why ''you do or don't like different parts of it. Are too many characters flat? Why do you like certain characters? Are there plot inconsistencies? Identifying what's good and bad in a story helps you know what to avoid and go for in your own writing and provides inspiration. *Read bad books. Read spoiler-free or in-depth reviews beforehand (it doesn't really matter which if the book isn't that good, but some people don't like spoilers no matter what, so do what you want). Think about why you do or don't like different parts of the book; it helps you figure out what to avoid or go for in your own writing, especially what to avoid. *Read what you love. Whatever you do in life, try to make it enjoyable. Avid reading is key to good writing, so why not read what you want to? Reading bad books on purpose probably won't be fun (unless they're hilariously bad), but that's mostly for opening up opportunities to constructively criticize work. Remember, not ''everything you do will be fun. When reading about writing: *Read advice from seasoned authors and editors that also write. Read lots of advice. *Read about lessons writers have learned, be them about character development or world building. *If any advice doesn't sound right to you, don't follow it. Being a popular author doesn't make one an all-knowing super author that always gives perfect advice, so bear this in mind. For example, there's this one piece of advice that seems to be quite popular: Kill your babies; as in, kill off your best and/or favorite characters. The reasoning behind this is that it can show if you made readers care about your character or not. Many also say this will make your story better. This isn't perfectly true, of course; you don't have to make the most wonderfully balanced, complex, flawed, and likable character to make someone upset about their death. I mean, people tend to cry when they hear of the death of someone they never knew on the news. It can certainly make a powerful impact, but only if used well; killing off characters seems to work best when there is authorial reasoning behind it, like to act as a catalyst for powerful character development in other characters. When practicing: *There's no "right" way to practice writing, but there are good and bad ways. Simply practicing won't make you improve. Practicing a guitar upside down with the wrong hand posture won't make you a better player; it would most likely lead to bad playing and bad habits that would be hard to shake off later on. "Building Your Novel with a Holistic Approach" by C. S. Lakin on her Web site Live, Write, Thrive is a great article on holistic writing, which is a "method" where you craft your story as a whole, taking into consideration the fact that every part influences every other part in some way. *Do lots of character development exercises. You can find plenty online. This is one of the best ways to develop characters. Write down whatever information about the character you think you'll want to reference while writing; you don't have to fill out some long template, which I don't recommend doing, as they can be rather restrictive. I suggest looking at several character questionnaires to see what things about a character you might want to think about and perhaps making your own to reference while creating characters, filling out only what you want. *Do lots of world building exercises if you ever focus on world building. You can find plenty online. Again, write down whatever information about your world you think you'll want to reference while writing, and again, I don't recommend filling out a template, but referencing questionnaires to see what things about your world you might want to think about. *Look to other works for inspiration--literature, concept art, etc. *Use story prompts when you don't know what to write (or as just a great exercise to improve your skills). Use those of others or make your own. *Don't be afraid to fail! Don't try to fail on purpose, obviously, but don't be afraid of failure. Remember: Don't remember the mistakes; remember the lessons. *Have fun! The best workers in the world love what they do, and their love of their work is a big part of what made them so good. You won't always love every part of what you do, but that's completely normal; don't give up at the first sign of boredom or frustration.